Unbeaten Conegliano face another test against Rzeszów in the #CLVolleyW quarter-finals

Reigning champions A.Carraro Imoco Conegliano are unbeaten this season, riding a 41-match winning streak in all competitions entering the quarter-finals of the CEV Champions League Women, where they face Polish side Developres Rzeszów.

The two sides have already met this season in the 4th round, where Conegliano have clinched two wins, 3:1 in Poland and 3:0 on their home court, on their way to winning Pool A, and finishing second in the standings for the top placed teams, with the only set lost in the six matches being the one against Rzeszów.

Conegliano threw their best against the Polish side in that match, which was one of their most difficult of the season, winning the first set, 30:28, conceding the third one, 23:25, before dominating in the fourth set, 25:15, on the back of an excellent performance of Isabelle Haak, who had 27 points under her name.

In fact, Developres Rzeszów are the team which Conegliano have met the largest number of times in the CEV Champions League, with the Italian side winning six out of six matches, with all away encounters following the same pattern – Conegliano winning 3:1 in the 2022/23, 2023/24 and 2024/25 seasons.

“They are an opponent we have already faced and know very well, we know that they express their maximum potential at home, where they have always given us a hard time in these seasons, including the match we played this year that saw us succumb in the initial part,” said Conegliano’s coach, Davide Santarelli.

“We know we are the favourites, but we must not think about it, to play the match at our best we will need maximum concentration.”

The Italian side are also riding an 18-match winning streak in the CEV Champions League Women, with their last loss coming in the 2022/23 season against Fenerbahce, in the first leg of the quarter-finals. However, their largest winning streak is 26 matches, which cannot be tied in the current season, even if Conegliano secure back-to-back trophies in the European premium competition.

On the other hand, Developres Rzeszów have finished second in Pool A, with four wins and two losses, dropping a single set in the other four matches. In the play-offs, Rzeszów eliminated Allianz MTV Stuttgart with two wins, 3:1 and 3:0, once again being dominant on their home court.

Agnieszka Korneluk (18) recorded the joint-most kill blocks in the 4th round  of this Champions League campaign, alongside Haylie Bennet, while Sabrina Machado is one of the top scorers of the competition, with 121 points, the pair being Rzeszów’s top players this season.

The Polish side will be coming into this match after a 1:3 loss in their domestic league against ŁKS Commercecon Łodz, conceding the first place in the standings, while Conegliano finished first in the regular season of the Italian domestic league.